Is this possible or is it my imagination?

swingaloo

About 3 hours ago I got a call on my landline from an Asian sounding man who said he was calling from 'Computer Assistance'.


He asked me if I had noticed that my computer was going slow today and offered to help. I asked him how he could possibly know that and he told me that he knew because I was connected to the internet and if I would log on to my computer he could prove what he was saying and help me sort 'the problem'.


I was actually logged on at the time I was speaking to him but as I was convinced it was some kind of crank/sales tactic call I told him I did not own a computer to which he mumbled something I couldn't hear properly and hung up.


I thought no more of it but as the night has gone on I am convinced that my computer is running slower than usual and it keeps freezing.


logic tells me that no one can possible tap into my computer to see it is running slow and I don't think my phone number is stored anywhere on my laptop as I use my mobile number if I have to give details when ordering or contacting anyone.


But on the other hand my system is slow so its got me wondering. Please someone tell me its not possible!

sinizterguy

It's possible. It's improbable.

RumRat

Scam call......Run Malwarebytes and delete anything it finds to check if anything is slowing down your PC.
It's obvious he was fishing and couldn't see anything, you did the right thing....

esuhl

It's a scam. The guy was cold-calling and has no idea who you are.

If you had said that you have a computer, he would have offered to "fix" the problem by logging in remotely. He would then either have installed malware on your computer or have told you that you have a serious problem and need to pay to fix it.

Your credit card details would then be stolen, and your computer could potentially be controlled remotely, so it could be used to attack web servers (not so likely, but easily possible).

You did the right thing in not giving any information to the caller. He can't actually "tap in" to your PC, so if it happens to be running slowly it will be due to something else.

It would probably be a good idea to install and run MalwareBytes' Anti-Malware (the free version). It's a well-known and very effective program at removing most malware you might have on your PC (which could be slowing it down).

https://www.malwarebytes.org/

borse2008

Scam call do not let them on your computer.

swingaloo

Thank you for the replies, that was my gut instinct. Thanks all.

McKneff

We get a few of these each week, I usually listen to them, smile and say yes, for a couple of minutes, then just say 'hold on a moment' put the phone to one side, then go and have a cuppa. lol.....

maas

I'd love to get one of these calls lol

Nodding_Donkey

According to the last one that called me I'm a

"Bl**dy motherf*%^ing son of a motherf*%^ing bl**dy b*&ch"

This was after trying to get me to install the windoze version of Teamviewer on my Linux computer. I gave him loads of clues in the 35 minutes of his time I wasted.

Time he couldn't spend scamming someone else

Norman_Castle

It is running slower than it should be. I can see that from here. Your version of browser need optimising for your PC. If you forward £50 to getnormandrunk.com I can fix it for you.

Strider590

Well known scam, unfortunately unlike the rubbish that goes around social media, nobody seems to share this knowledge and it is still catching people out.

This year I guarantee you'll get to know about a car jacking hoax scam where criminals supposedly put a piece of paper on your rear window (as well as other hoaxes), but you won't hear about these genuine scams at all.

I think people don't like to admit they've been caught out and therefore don't pass on the knowledge. I didn't find out they scammed my father until 3 months after it happened, they hit his credit card for about £700.

The whole thing is run by Russian crime gangs, they're making billions every year from it. First directly from you and then later by selling your machine as part of a "bot net" to be used for other illegal activities (like hiding online money transactions).